Heather Locklear Steps Out for First Event in Nearly 3 Years at 90s Con

Heather Locklear is back on the scene!

The 62-year-old actress made a rare appearance at 90s Con Florida over the weekend in Daytona Beach, Fla., marking her first public event in nearly three years.

On Sept. 14, Locklear appeared on a solo panel ahead of one with her Melrose Place castmates, where she discussed various topics from her career to her relationships and boundary-pushing style. It was her first public event since being photographed at the premiere of the Lifetime original movie Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story in October 2021.

Of her love for playing rebellious characters, the actress said during the 90s Con event, “It’s more fun to play it not straight.”

“When you’re a bitch, you don’t go around thinking you’re a bitch — you just think you’re right,” Locklear quipped.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

She also touched on her dynamic with various former costars and friends including Tom Cruise, whom she met at an audition early on in their careers.

A self-proclaimed “rock and roll girl” at the time, Locklear said with a laugh that her style didn’t match Cruise’s and “he didn’t quite cut it” — but they eventually went on a date anyway.

As the actress recalled, “We went out dancing to Club Lingerie at that time and, and I’ve said this before, I mean, he was really cute.”

She then described his dance moves, revealing she was one of the first to see what ended up being his famous scene from Risky Business, during which he slides down on his knees. 

“He actually did that before [the movie], and I was dancing along like, ‘Do you stop dancing if they’re down there?’” Locklear recalled of Cruise, 62. “I was like ‘Yay!’ But he was very nice to me.”

During the full Melrose Place panel immediately following, Locklear and much of the rest of the cast reunited onstage for the first time in years — and teased that it’s just a glimpse of what’s to come.

Appearing alongside Josie Bissett, Brooke Langton, Laura Leighton and Grant Show, Daphne Zuniga touched on the Melrose Place revival series in development and explained where it currently stands.

“Everyone has agreed to do it. Laura and I worked on this for a little bit now,” she said. “It is in talks. Business affairs and lawyers and all those types are talking about it, and they do want to do it.”

Zuniga, 61, went on to say that they’re waiting on the talks to go through.

Leighton, 56, added there were many “moving parts and pieces” involved in getting the new show off the ground: “The stars need to align, but we want it as much as the fans want it.”

90s Con Florida is occurring through Sunday, Sept. 15, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.